Birmingham 1 Flog It!

Birmingham is famous throughout the world for its gold

and silverwares and what better symbol than this sparkling gem

of a piece of architecture, its new library,

to put contemporary Birmingham well and truly on the international map?

It's a city rich in history and now a first-class cultural destination.

Welcome to the show!

For the past 250 years, Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter

has been the epicentre of the country's jewellery design,

with the historic square mile itself being declared a national treasure.

This city's certainly not shy in promoting its glittering heritage.

Even the statues are gold-plated.

Our venue today is Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery.

It's a beautiful Victorian building, a work of art in its own right,

and it's situated right in the heart of the city's civic centre.

The last time they saw a crowd as big as this

was just after the incredible discovery

of the Staffordshire Hoard, found by a local man,

the largest and most valuable Anglo-Saxon treasure

ever to be discovered.

But today, it's a blockbuster of a different kind.

We're looking out for treasures from the world of art and antiques

and there's only one question on this lot's mind, which is...

ALL: What's it worth?

Stay tuned and you'll find out.

Hunting for their own treasure today are experts James Lewis

and Christina Trevanion.

It doesn't have a mark!

-Does yours have a mark?

-Yes!

-Ooh!

-Hang on a minute, what does yours say?

-Nine carat.

What does yours say? Nothing.

Doesn't say anything.

-I'll swap you.

-THEY LAUGH

Later in the programme, I find out how one lucky metal detectorist

got in touch with his inner Midas.

-You've got a mantra, have you?

-Oh, yeah.

"Spirits of yesteryears,

"take me where the gold appears."

That was it, really, was it?

And I take a closer look at some of the museum's own treasures.

That's real history.

As you can see, we've taken over the museum's Rotunda Gallery

for our valuation day tables,

and our experts are hard at work in here.

In the centre is the archangel Lucifer,

by modernist sculptor Jacob Epstein

and it looks like Lucifer's just about to step off the plinth

and help out with our valuations.

We might need him later on,

but right now, James Lewis is over there,

he's at the Flog It! tables, he's spotted a real gem.

Let's catch up with him.

When I was a little boy

with my mum and dad at the weekend, on a Saturday night,

I used to be given a treat.

Instead of sitting round the dining table,

we would have our tea on our knee in front the TV

and it used to be Harold Lloyd or Laurel & Hardy

and I loved Laurel & Hardy, absolutely fantastic.

-Were you a fan when you were...?

-Big fan.

-Still a fan?

Still a fan of Laurel & Hardy, yes.

Is this something a relative of yours collected?

No, I was a delivery driver

and I used to deliver to one of the Dudley hospitals

and the fella in the goods-in department

was talking about actors and film stars and said he had an autograph

of Laurel & Hardy. I said, in a Black Country term, "Yo ay!"

He says, "I have!"

So he asked if I was interested in buying it.

I agreed a fee with him and I bought it off him.

Apparently, his sister used to go with a fella named Eddie

who played the piano at the Wolverhampton Hippodrome,

so he got the autograph off of Laurel & Hardy

cos they were appearing there in Wolverhampton.

OK, let's have a look.

Here we have a page from a programme.

It appears to be signed by Laurel & Hardy.

The big question is, is it right or is it wrong?

Because the bigger the name,

and you don't get much bigger than Laurel & Hardy,

the more common the fakes.

We see an awful lot of fake Laurel & Hardy signatures.

One of the most important things is to have that provenance,

to have that confidence,

that we know how the person came by it.

Anybody who was a friend of Eddie, and Eddie was the piano player

and therefore worked with them,

-is a great provenance.

-Right.

It's almost as good as seeing them sign it.

There are various things you look for with a Laurel & Hardy signature.

You see that Stan Laurel has signed in fountain pen...

-Yes.

-..and Oliver Hardy has signed in ball pen.

After 1947, Oliver Hardy always used a ball pen,

but Stan Laurel continued to use a fountain pen to sign

all of the time, he never converted,

so you expect Oliver Hardy to be in a ball pen, and he is.

You expect Stan Laurel to be in a fountain pen, and he is.

The other thing they always did

was they always signed their name on the side of the image

where their image was, so here we have Stan Laurel on the left

and Oliver Hardy's signature on the right,

so another telltale sign that it's right.

If you were going to fake something like this,

you certainly wouldn't fake it

and then put a great, big crease down it, because that devalues it.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy signatures

almost always have a set value,

so auction estimate - £200-£300.

-I'm confident it'll do well.

-Oh, thank you.

-Is that all right?

-I'm pleased.

You had me sweating for a bit. JAMES LAUGHS

No, I think it's OK.

Not sweating, Will, laughing!

Along with our own favourite slapstick double act.

That's another nice mess you've gotten me into!

Ollie, is that really you?

-Of course it's me.

-Gee, I'm glad to see you.

Well, they don't make 'em like that any more,

and here's another fine mess for Christina to untangle.

So, Mary-Ann, here we are in the Industrial Gallery

and it's stacked full of just the most beautiful things, isn't it?

Just like this little bag of tricks that you've brought in to me.

I haven't actually opened the bag yet, but it looks intriguing.

-My aunt gave it to me about 15 year ago.

-Right, OK.

And it's obviously got a good jumble of opals in it, hasn't it?

-Is this how you got it?

-Yes, it's in the same bag.

We've got a bracelet, which is very pretty.

And we've got a necklace that is slightly worse for wear

going on here.

But nonetheless, very pretty.

Did Aunt ever wear them?

-I'm not sure if she ever wore them.

-Right, OK.

But my aunt, she raised us,

and I used to stay with my aunt a lot,

-and we come from a travelling community.

-Right, OK.

And she was the first one ever to put my sticky-out dress on

-and put my hair in rag curls.

-Oh, really?!

-Yes.

And she just wanted me to have these,

but I don't think she ever wore them.

This is a perfect illustration of why people think

that opals are unlucky,

because so much of their composition is made of basically a gel,

so much of it is water,

that they dehydrate, they shrink,

and they fall out of their settings.

That's exactly what's happened here, isn't it?

So we've got one missing off this bracelet here -

we've got a lovely row of opals

and then this beautiful fringe necklace,

-but unfortunately, it's not very fringe-y any more.

-No, it's not.

We have got some loose stones and things here,

which obviously would have been part of it here,

and we've still got some of them, so that's the main thing.

When we look at valuing jewellery

and look at valuing opals specifically,

we look at the colour and the play of colour that's in the opal,

and these do have a particularly nice play of colour.

I would say that the pieces are quite contemporary in date,

1880-1890, late Victorian in era,

and they're obviously set in a yellow gold.

Have we got any marks on here?

We've got a very faint nine-carat mark there,

just on that little ring there,

which is very, very faint but still there nonetheless.

If they're in good condition,

I would have suggested putting them separately,

but they're not, and I think to sell them,

really we'd be looking at selling them as one lot here.

Yeah, that's fine.

I'm going to say at auction, I would hope that the two of them

-would fetch somewhere in the region of £200-£300.

-Yep.

Maybe with a reserve slightly lower, sort of the 160 level,

and let's just hope we've got some opal lovers in the sale room,

and I think opal is the sign for Libra,

so let's hope we've got some Librans in the sale room as well!

-Best of luck.

-OK, thank you.

Librans or not, those opals are sure to brighten up the sale room.

Now, while the valuations are in full swing,

I've come to see one of the museum's most treasured objects.

Away from all of the lights, the camera and the action,

the hubbub where the valuations are taking place,

I've come deeper into the heart of the museum to the Buddha Gallery,

and it's dominated by this one statue, the Sultanganj Buddha,

and it has a wonderful story attached to it,

which I'd like to tell you.

It was discovered by a railway engineer

working for the East India Company back in 1861.

He saw a hand sticking out the ground

and, after some careful excavation,

this whole statue was revealed and it's quite remarkable

to find something surviving from that age made of metal.

This dates back to the seventh century.

He would have been at the centre of an ancient Buddhist monastery,

and if you're wondering what he's doing with his hands,

the right hand's palm open in the air, that's a gesture of piece.

The left hand opened outwards facing downwards,

that's a gesture of giving, it's a blessing and he's beckoning you

into the museum, and that's why he's situated here.

You can spot him from 150 yards away,

from that Rotunda Gallery, all the way down there,

through the Industrial Gallery to this space here,

and as you walk through,

he's calling you in and it has a really calming effect.

I love him - that's real history.

MUSIC: On Treasure Island by Tommy Dorsey

We can hardly move for treasures today.

Let's see what James has netted himself.

So, Raymond, tell me, are you a gin drinker?

-Erm, a little bit.

-Enough to empty four bottles?

-No, not really, no.

-These are classic Dutch 19th-century gin bottles...

-Wow.

..that we see a little bit in England,

but you see a lot more on the Continent.

Very few arrive here in England,

so is there a history behind these?

-There is a history. My family are from Guyana...

-Right.

..and my nan bought them in a place in Georgetown in 1980

for 200 Guyanese dollars.

-So what does that equate to?

-About £10.

-OK.

-So that's a lot of money in those days, especially for Guyanese.

-Yeah.

-They were found by somebody else on a beach.

You can understand the Dutch being there -

the Dutch had colonised Guyana,

the Dutch were big traders,

gin was used in huge quantities to bargain for all sorts of goods.

These are square for one very simple reason -

that they were much easier to transport and pack,

so they would have gone in the crates like that,

side by side,

and that's the way they logically fit.

Gin was traded for slaves as well in the 19th century,

so gin was always seen as the evil drink.

Even Hogarth painted a series of pictures about drinking

and Gin Lane - if you saw the illustration of Gin Lane by Hogarth,

it's a not a great scene.

It's not a, "Darling, shall we have a gin and tonic?",

-as it is today.

-No!

Gin was not a great thing to be drinking in the 19th century,

or the 18th century.

So we've got bottles dating to about 1820, 1850.

That one is worth about £40-£60,

that one is worth another £20-£30,

and these are worth 10, 15 each, something like that.

My recommendation would be to sell them as a group

and put an auction estimate of £80-£120 on them,

-something like that.

-OK, thank you.

-How do you feel, is that all right?

-Excellent.

-It's better than £10, isn't it?

-Definitely.

So 30 years ago, they've paid 10, they're now worth 100,

-that's not a bad investment.

-No, no, that's a good investment.

You need to go beach-combing!

-I certainly will!

-See what else you can find.

-Thank you very much indeed, James.

-Well done.

MUSIC: Message In A Bottle by The Police

This gallery is a perfect example of industry and art

working together in harmony.

All the elements are here creating a dynamic

and when you put them together,

it really is something special -

the wonderful vaulted iron girders here,

natural daylight flooding through the ceiling,

lighting up all the objects,

and, of course, original gaslights and this wonderful balcony,

so you can see everything going on below.

Talking of visual treats,

it's now time for our first visit to the auction room.

Well, it's another fine mix of items we're taking with us,

starting with William's Laurel & Hardy signatures

and their airtight provenance...

..Mary-Ann's dazzling jewels from down under,

and will Raymond's bottles,

with their mysterious stories of far-flung oceans

and shipwrecks bewitch the bidders?

We've travelled to the market town of Stourbridge

and Fieldings Auctioneers,

where we're always assured of a warm welcome from the proprietor,

our very own Nick Davies.

The great thing about the antiques market is

it's all about fads and trends,

getting in at the right time, and making that profit.

What's hot right now? What does everyone want around Birmingham?

The word everyone's using at the moment is "vintage".

So '50s, '60s, that type of thing is very popular,

especially with young professionals.

We have a couple of design sales a year to incorporate that.

That's what you're doing?

So you're encouraging the younger buyers in?

Absolutely, yeah - got to have fresh blood, keep it going.

Course you have, cos they grew up with that,

-so they're going to want a piece of it back.

-Nostalgia always sells.

Well, talking about nostalgia, great comedy double acts,

Laurel & Hardy - that's proper nostalgia, isn't it?

Proper nostalgia, proper slapstick.

One of the best. Two of the best!

-This belongs to William. He paid £120 for this.

-Right.

We've got it valued at 200-300.

I think that's about right. I don't see there's a problem with it.

-Will we get 200-300?

-I've sold them before,

I've got another couple actually in this sale.

And are these better than your other examples

-because they're on a little programme card?

-They are.

The others are on little bits of paper, so that always helps.

Good, good, because we don't want someone buying the other lots first

and then running out of money to get to this one.

Does this one come up first?

-This one does come up first, actually.

-It's sold.

For how much, we don't know.

Whatever you do, don't go away - this could get quite exciting.

And don't forget, there's the auctioneer's commission to consider.

Here at Fieldings, the seller's commission is 18%.

Did you know, there were two other lots in the sale room

-both with Laurel & Hardy signatures?

-Really?

Yeah, so there are three lots of signatures here.

I had a chat to Nick at the preview day yesterday

and he said your lot is the best.

-It is.

-It really is, yes. The others are on scraps of paper.

Yours is on something quite official.

Can I ask why you're selling?

I've got a few jobs on my car to be done.

-A few jobs on the garden?

-On the car.

-On the car?

-Yes.

Make it last another 12 months.

Oh, yeah. You need your wheels, don't you?

-You do, yeah.

-OK.

We'll make sure that happens.

The signatures are going under the hammer right now.

Let's see how they do.

284, the Laurel & Hardy programme.

This is nice, from the Wolverhampton Hippodrome.

£230 takes the underbidders out, just above bottom estimate, 230.

Couple of people interested. Do I see 240 anywhere else in the room?

We're at 240. 250?

You're out and done with 240 in the room now. 250 anywhere else?

At £240 for the Laurel & Hardy,

at 240 all done.

-£240 - you're happy with that.

-I'm happy, yeah.

-I'm happy with that.

-Well done.

-Thank you so much for bringing that in.

It's put a smile on everyone's face - the greatest comedy duo ever.

William doubled his money and he's very happy with that.

Is this the beginning of a winning streak?

20, all done?

-Mary-Ann, you inherited this, what, 15 years ago?

-Yeah, I did.

Never worn them?

Never even tried them on. Did the girls dress up and try them on?

-No.

-No? Aww!

Look, hopefully, somebody will today. Someone's going to buy them.

Let's put them to the test.

Here we go, they're going under the hammer right now.

£200, starts the underbidders at £200. Do I see 210? 220, 230,

240, 250,

260, says no.

250 in the room, 260 anywhere else?

Right, we're in.

£250, in the room at 250.

260 anywhere else? At £250, seated in the room...

HAMMER FALLS

-WHat did you think of that, girls?

-Was that good?

-Good, yeah?

-It's quick, isn't it?

-Good?

-Thumbs up?

-Well done.

-Job well done.

I'm sure that'll pay for a wonderful family event.

Going under the hammer right now -

four Dutch gin bottles belonging to Raymond and the gin has gone

and there wasn't even a message in the bottle, was there?

-No, there wasn't.

-Nevertheless, nice-looking bottles.

I like the square ones - quite rare to this country.

Why are you selling these?

We had them in our family since 1980

and we bought them in Guyana, Georgetown,

and we just wanted a little clearout.

OK.

I just thought, as a sort of prop, you're a chef -

have them on the kitchen shelf somewhere, looks good.

-We've got a few more bottles.

-Put some olive oil in there?

-Genius!

-There we go.

-I don't like food.

You can tell!

Here we go, we're putting it to the test. This is it.

£80, we're off and running at £80. 85 anywhere else in the room?

£80 on commission, 85, 90, 5.

You sure? £90 on commission. 95 anywhere else?

They've gone, Raymond.

95 anywhere else?

£90 on commission, the four bottles are going to sell at 90.

95, he's back.

You're out now.

95, he's back. You're out at 100.

Does anybody else want to jump in at £100?

We're £95. All done and finished at £95 for the bottles. Finish?

-Yes, £95. Well done. Put it there.

-Thank you very much.

-Job done as well.

-Thank you very much.

-Great.

That proves there's a buyer for everything.

At £200 all done.

We all dream of finding something in an auction,

buying it for next to nothing and selling for an absolute fortune,

that sleeper, or finding something in a car boot sale,

the garden shed, or digging something up in the garden.

For most of us, that is a dream,

but for the lucky few, that dream has come true. Take a look at this.

BEEPING

Let's face it -

people that use metal detectors get a tough time from the rest of us,

and I know this for fact because my dad had one of these in the '70s

and we all took the mickey out of him.

But for the lucky few, the last laugh is on us,

because back in 2009, in a muddy field in Staffordshire,

Terry Herbert struck gold,

and I mean he literally struck gold. Not one piece, not ten pieces,

but hundreds of pieces!

Terry had lifted the lid on a treasure that had lain undisturbed

for over 1,300 years.

Within days, a professional archaeological dig had been set up.

Soon, Terry's 300 pieces of gold

had turned into a staggering 3,000 individual pieces.

It was the largest haul and the most valuable haul

of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered.

Dating from the sixth century,

these glittering Anglo-Saxon jewels were from the Dark Ages,

when Britain was made up of several warring kingdoms,

a brutal and bloodthirsty epoch.

STEEL CLANGS AND MEN SHOUT

The Staffordshire Hoard, as it became known,

made headlines around the world.

The biggest haul ever found of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver,

shedding new light on one of most mysterious times in British history.

..treasure that's been lost for more than 1,000 years.

There's so much gold, it'll be worth millions.

When the treasure went on show at the museum,

a record-breaking 40,000 people came to see it.

Absolutely fantastic. It hasn't disappointed one little bit.

-It's been brilliant.

-I'm a jeweller,

so it's quite a thrill to have a look at it, to be honest.

The treasure was valued at £3.3 million,

which was shared between the owner of the land on which it was found

and a delighted Terry.

Talk me through exactly what went on that day.

I got out into the field about quarter past 11.

I did a bit of metal detecting.

Nothing was coming up so I had my little saying...

You're got a mantra, have you? What is it?

"Spirit of yesteryears, take me where the coins appears."

-But why on this day I changed it, I still don't know.

-Changed it to what?

"Spirits of yesteryears, take me where the gold appears."

HE LAUGHS

-Really?

-And within half an hour I suddenly found this piece.

I thought it was off a jewellery box or something. But when I looked

at it with my magnifying glass I thought, "Could be a piece of gold."

So that went in my pocket and I carried on.

-The next thing to come off was a pommel off a sword.

-Wow!

On that day I found 25-50 items.

But I didn't realise then how much was on that field.

That was the big shock, that was.

Does this bring back lots of memories coming in here today?

-It's been a few years for you.

-It has, yeah.

But it's nice to see what I'd actually found.

Terry wasn't the only one excited by the find.

For the museum's archaeology department and its curator,

David Symonds, it was as if all their Christmases had come at once.

It's absolutely astonishing.

I never, ever in my career thought I'd be holding this kind of treasure.

To think that these are 1,300 years old is unbelievable.

What was it like when you realised the true extent of the hoard?

I think the only word is unbelievable.

I mean literally unbelievable.

Because nothing like this had been found before

and you just looked at it and more and more of the most incredible

items appeared and you could not believe what you were looking at.

When you look at Anglo-Saxon Britain you think of the Dark Ages and a

sort of brutal feudal society but you don't necessarily think of

exquisite craftsmanship and I have been blown away by looking at this.

Especially the filigree work.

They must have had wonderful workshops back then in order

to twist these fine threads of gold, weave them together and plait them.

The workmanship is incredible but I think the thing about

dark ages is they're only dark

because we don't have the written history.

It doesn't mean the people weren't capable of producing the most

incredible things like this.

But, yes, the workmanship is literally astounding.

And just talk me through the bulk of the hoard.

Was it weapons or things to be worn?

That was one of the shocks with the hoard

because it's overwhelmingly what we recognise as military kit.

But it's not straight pieces of military equipment.

For example, a lot of the things we see here.

This is a reproduction Anglo-Saxon sword.

If you look at the handle you'll find we've got a pommel cap

and these pieces here are pommel caps.

You can see they've all been torn off the sword.

We don't have the sword blades. That's the really interesting thing.

The good quality Anglo-Saxon sword blade was probably

worth as much as the gold on the handle.

So it's very interesting they're not there.

-So it was just the gold ripped off?

-Yep.

That's what makes me thing it's a treasure find.

It's actually the gold and silver they're interested in.

-And I think this lot was destined for the melting pot.

-You do?

I don't think anybody cared how lovely it was.

Talk me through some of the pieces anyway.

I'll start you with one pommel cap over here.

This is the gold and garnet work complete with the gold pins

-that fixed it on.

-Gosh. I'm surprised they're still intact.

We're very lucky with this bit.

-If I just move this in the light.

-It does catch the light beautifully.

When you see that shine you think

they must have looked magnificent with this kind of kit on.

It's very intriguing because if you notice in this piece,

-you see that stamped gold foil in the middle?

-Yes, it's cross-hatched.

That's what's making these other little garnets shine so much.

It's very much as if you're making a bicycle reflector.

You have to have something shiny behind the red glass

so the light goes through and then shines back again.

One suggestion is it's meant to look like an eye and the shape is right.

It could be, couldn't it?

This is another really intriguing piece.

If you look carefully you'll see at one end that it's meant

to have a little snake head.

Oh, yes. I can see that.

So the whole thing is the interlaced body of a snake.

-Yes!

-We've seen nothing like these before.

I'm not an expert but I'd say the people that owned this

sort of thing were the upper echelon of society?

You're absolutely looking at elite warriors.

If I'm the king of one of the local Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

I want really good warriors around me

because they are the men who will help me keep power and basically

beat up my neighbours until they give me treasure to go away.

The best description I've heard of one of these type of people

are that they're the psychopathic peacocks around the throne.

And you have to imagine them

decked out in all this finery going into battle looking like this.

People sometimes say, "Is this parade armour or parade weaponry?" No.

This is deliberately there to show how important you are

and how dangerous you are.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime find for Terry but for you

-and many other academics this is the rest of your life, isn't it?

-It is.

It's fair to say it changed my life in the past five years

and I know that long after I'm gone from the museum people will be

arguing about this find.

30, 40 years down the line those arguments will be going on

and it's wonderful to know you've been part of that story.

What does it feel like to be the person

responsible for all of the experts all over the world

in Anglo-Saxon artefacts to come here

and pit their wits against each other and look at this in awe?

It feels fantastic.

To find something like this cos it's gone on display

-so everybody in the world now can see it.

-Exactly.

-Do you think there's a lot more out there still?

-Yes.

Around the UK there's got to be another one of these somewhere.

There's got to be.

-Are you still actively looking?

-I'm still looking. Still looking.

# Like finding a needle in a haystack

# Like finding a needle in a haystack

# Yeah, yeah, shadoop. #

Welcome back to Birmingham's

Museum and Art Gallery, where our valuation day is in full swing.

Hundreds of people are turning up throughout the day.

We've taken over

the Industrial Gallery, which is housing our queue.

Hundreds of people waiting to be filmed.

-You having a good time, everyone?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Good luck later on.

Anyway, it's lights, camera,

action in the Rotunda Gallery through there.

Let's catch up with our experts

and see what else we can take off to auction.

# Like finding a needle in a haystack. #

And after all that dazzling gold it's a relief to see some silver.

When I came here this morning I really wanted to see a nice

couple of bits of Birmingham silver.

It's such a great historical assay office.

And you haven't brought me Birmingham silver,

you brought me Sheffield silver.

Sorry.

Not to worry. I'm not disappointed.

But we can tell we've got the hallmark

and the maker's name, which is George Howson.

GH for George Howson.

We've then got a crown, which is the symbol of the assay office

of Sheffield.

We've got a lion passant mark, which is the standard for sterling silver.

And then we've got a little letter which is the letter

Y, which in this case is for 1916.

-Right, OK.

-So a lovely pair of silver candlesticks.

Tell me how you've come by them. How have they come into your possession?

When my mum passed away I inherited a few things myself

and my brother sort of split between us.

I particularly liked the look of these so that's why I close them.

OK, so what is it that drew you to them?

I think it's the shape. They're quite simple. They're not too elaborate.

They're just very stylish and I just like the look of them.

They're very elegant and I think that's...

so typical of that time.

If you think about that

First World War era this is very much what

we call the Adam revival style.

Adam was really an 18th century furniture designer

and we often think of Adam interiors which were very classical.

He often used harebell and swag details in his design.

And these are hugely in this style. Very restrained yet elegant.

On this wonderful plinth base.

You can almost see statues standing on it, can't you?

It's quite monumental in a way.

-Timeless, really, aren't they?

-Yeah, I'd say so.

The only thing really that's a bit of a downside about them is...

-A bit skewwhiff.

-A bit skewwhiff, sadly.

So we've got one that's doing a bit that way

and one that's doing a bit that way.

They look like they're doing a bit of a dance.

Have they been damaged in your possession?

They've been packed away for a few years now.

-So it may have just happened at a wild dinner party?

-Possibly.

A bit of a while ago possibly.

If we look at the construction we can see why this has happened, as well.

When you look at silver candlesticks we turn them

upside down to see whether they're solid silver or filled.

We can tell by looking at the bottom, we can see that this metal

plate is actually holding in the fill.

Either plaster or wax or a composite.

If they'd been solid silver they would have been worth

an awful lot more.

-Yeah.

-But we're looking somewhere in the region of £200-300.

-With a reserve possibly at 180.

-Right.

-How would you feel about that?

-I think I'd be quite pleased with that.

-Yeah?

-That would tie in more or less with what I was thinking.

-Super.

And we'll hope that between now

and the auction silver price starts going up a little bit.

-Definitely. Thanks a lot.

-Thank you.

Um, a very nice pair.

But James can double that with a quad.

Andrew, when I saw these in the lines outside,

you'd been queueing up nice and early.

And I just fell in love with them.

A lot of this business that we're in is all about value

and really there's far more to it than that.

It's personal attraction really and I just love them.

It reminds me of times in Africa and the animals I love to watch.

For me, I did a basic animal tracking course when I was out there.

It just brought back happy memories. So, what memories are they for you?

Where did they come from?

I purchased them about 15 years ago at a car boot.

And I just liked them, like you said.

Other people have looked at them and seem attracted to them as a group.

-And they're so well modelled.

-The casting is brilliant.

-The great thing is that these are cast in solid bronze.

-Yeah.

-And they weigh a ton, don't they?

-Yeah.

When I first saw that

and picked it up I was shocked at how heavy it was.

Most of the modern things like this that we see today are a bronze

-and resin mix.

-Yeah. Some are lead filled, as well.

Some are lead filled but that's as heavy as anything you'll find.

Really, you've got a lot of scrap bronze there

if anyone wants to melt it down, which would be horrific.

But there we go. They're modern. There's not a lot of age to them.

-Yeah.

-They're probably, 20, 30, 40 years old. Something like that.

They could have been made in Africa

but they're not traditional African works of art.

We turn one over, we've got a mark underneath.

Which is a very modern looking mark, as well.

But basically, they're post-war.

So why are they here?

We're selling the house at the moment and downsizing like a lot of people.

And we don't really know what to do with them now.

Well, I think they should make £60-100 at auction.

I would hope they'll make the top end.

-Around £100 or so. What did you pay at the car boot?

-30.

-You've done all right.

-We liked them for 15 years so £30 over 15 years...

Not bad, is it?

I look at him and I think, "What would I give?" £30 for him.

So you think 30, 60, 90 and a little one an extra tenner. Should be £100.

-Shall we say £60 on the lot as a reserve?

-Yep, that sounds fine.

Take your little pod of hippos to the auction.

Lovely to see you. Thanks so much for bringing them. You made my day.

-I love them.

-Good, great.

Thank you.

# Am I a toy or am I a treasure? #

Our experts really do have their work cut out today.

Hundreds of people are here.

It looks like all of Birmingham and the surrounding areas have

turned up laden with their unwanted treasures. That's caught my eye.

-What's your name?

-Karen.

-Karen, are you a local lady?

-No, I'm from Coventry.

-Have you come for the day?

-Yep.

-Bless you.

Can I have a look at this

because just down the road in Stourbridge, that was really

the centre of glass making in this country back in the 18th century.

Second to Bohemia.

When they made things like this.

Little paperweights.

And I love these little canes bursting full of colour.

-Can you tell me much about this?

-We think it's a Paul Ysart.

-Yes.

-That's all I know.

-And whose was it?

-My mum's.

-Your mum's.

-And it's been in the family all that time?

-Yeah.

It's a shame it's been dropped. Can you see that?

I think if this hadn't been dropped

and badly damaged you're looking at £80-120.

-But in its present condition maybe £20-30.

-Is that all?

That's what an auctioneer would put on it.

And then he'd hope people would fall in love with the decorative

quality of it.

Personally, I'd hang on to it.

-It's nice to know something about it, really.

-Thank you for coming in.

Thank you.

And that brings us to your final valuation.

These little guys are from a skip, hop

and a jump down the road in Worcester.

That's right.

So we've got three pieces of Royal Worcester Porcelain.

Can you tell me where you got them from?

They were initially from my grandmother who left them

to my mother and we had them from my mother as from last year.

-So two generations.

-That's right.

The dates on them, I've had a little look at the dates and I would say

a pair but having had a look at the dates, the dates are 1904 and 1910.

And I would say the bodies were made earlier

and painted later at the same time.

-They're just so similar, aren't they?

-Yes, they are.

But obviously we can't call them a pair

because they're different dates.

And then we've also got the rose painted potpourri.

-I do like that one.

-It's really sweet, isn't it?

Can you imagine picking the rose petals off your rose bushes

-to put in your potpourri from your garden?

-Those were the days.

Those were the days. Absolutely. If only. This one dates to 1909.

So all of them in the Edwardian period.

They're not signed, which is a shame but not surprising.

Often we find signatures just to one side, but no signature.

We do know that a lot of Worcester artists were

specialists at different types of painting.

So you had your rose painting which is often by an artist called Hunt.

You had other artists, for example

Kitty Blake, who specialised in autumnal berries and leaves.

You had Stinton, who specialised in cattle and game birds.

So I think we can say they're by Hunt, they're Edwardian.

They've got these beautiful, big, blousy English roses.

Quintessentially of their time.

All together a really nice little group of Royal Worcester.

And the fact that they're in good condition is a real bonus

because so often you find these are so delicately made you often

find a finial has been knocked off.

So the fact they're in good condition is a real bonus.

For the group we're going to be looking at 100-150.

For the three. And I would put a reserve of 100 with discretion.

-How would you feel about that?

-Um, yes. That would be fine.

Let's hope, fingers crossed, that it's a really good sale for you

and that they sail away.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

That's it. You've just seen them.

Our experts final choices of items to take off to auction.

And I think there's some real gems there.

I can't wait to find out what's going to happen but sadly it

means we have to say goodbye to our magnificent host location,

Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery.

A building full of treasure and history.

And let's hope we can make some history of our own as we go

off to the auction room. And here's what's coming with us.

Debbie's pair of Sheffield silver candlesticks are approaching

their 100th birthday.

With a new owner, hopefully.

Four bronze hippos. They make a change from three flying ducks.

And finally, Linda's Royal Worcester collection.

That should have no difficulty attracting the bidders.

170 seated there.

180 anywhere else?

We're heading back to the auction one last time with our final

batch of lots.

All done and finished?

Going under the hammer right now we've got four modern bronze

-hippos which James absolutely loved.

-They've just got a shape about them.

They're modern OK, but they're still lovely. Really like them.

Unfortunately we don't have their owner, Andrew.

We do have sort of a co-owner,

because we've got Andrew's wife, Sue.

-Yes.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you too.

-He's poorly, is he?

-He is.

Get well soon, Andrew,

and hopefully we'll send you home with a bit of money.

We'll send the wife home with a bit of money.

Lot 632, which is the study of the hippopotamus.

Bit of interest, we open at £130. £130.

At £130 maiden bid takes the others out. 140 anywhere else?

£130 we're selling. All done?

That was short and sweet. £130.

Double bottom estimate so that's good.

He'll be really pleased with that.

He will, won't he? Thank you for standing in.

-Hope he gets better soon.

-I enjoyed it.

A tidy £100 profit on Andrew's original investment.

Next, it's Debbie's pair of classic silver candlesticks.

Our next lot is bound to light up the sale room.

I've been joined by Christina and Debbie here, our owner.

The candlesticks. Did you ever use them at Christmas time?

Set the scene?

-I think my mum used to.

-Very nice.

Special occasions, but they've been packed away ever since.

-It's a shame.

-Not many of us dine by candle light anymore, do we?

We don't with kids, let's face it.

They'd put their fingers in the flame. All sorts of things.

-Not a good idea.

-No.

-There is a market for them. We've got 2-300?

-Yes.

They're getting some really good, strong prices today.

-So fingers crossed.

-Good luck.

The pair of silver candlesticks. £200 takes the underbidder out.

£200.

210. 220. 230. 240. 250.

-260. 270. 260 on commission. Anyone else?

-Fantastic.

I'm selling at £260.

That was quick. It doesn't last long, does it?

I have to be honest, I wasn't sure they were going to sell,

so well done.

Spot on with the estimate.

75. 85. 95. 100.

It's our final lot.

The Royal Worcester china collection.

Sadly, Linda couldn't be with us today

but we do have her sister Janet.

I know Linda's feeling poorly but I guess this is your inheritance,

-as well?

-That's right.

-And you can remember these as a little girl?

-Vaguely, yes.

Don't touch them. Don't smash them.

They were always in a cabinet or on the sideboard.

It's a nice little trio. What have we got here?

We've got a pair of ewers. And also the potpourri, as well.

Not a big lot but we decided it's better to sell them

together rather than split them up.

Hopefully they'll stay together. Right, here we go.

Let's put it to the test.

Royal Worcester. Potpourri and the two jugs.

Where do you start me? Interest in this one. Have to open at £260.

Blimey!

270. 280. 290.

-300 and 10. 320. 330. 340...

-Smashing through the estimate.

-..370. 380.

-Brilliant.

-In the room at 370. 380. 390.

400. 410. 420.

-410, ladies bid.

-This will cheer Linda up.

All done at £410 for the Worcester? All finished? 420 last chance.

At 410 I'm selling.

That's what we like. That's what we call a result.

You've got to be over the moon with that?

We weren't expecting that.

Were you expecting the top end of the estimate?

-I don't know, really.

-There's no accounting for taste, is there?

-That was a come and buy me, wasn't it?

-It was.

-£22 on my left.

All done?

That's it. It's all over for our Flog It! owners.

What a brilliant day we have had here in Stourbridge.

If you've got something you'd like

to sell we'd love to flog it for you.

Bring it along to one of our valuation days.

Details you can pick up on our BBC website.

If you don't have a computer check the details in your local press.

We would love to see you. Dust them down and bring them in.

But until then from Stourbridge and all of us, it's goodbye.